Cupid's Arrow
by lefkipolki
Summary: The Silver Trio of Hogwarts- famous for their happening lives and infamous pranks find themselves on the train to Hogwarts for their fourth year. Adele, Draco and Blaise are in for drama, mystery, romance and humour as they make their way through the year. Throw in a few insufferable Gryffindors, and it's a recipe for trouble. Starts in GOF.
1. The Beginning

**A/N: Hey guys! So this is our first story and we'd really appreciate it if you guys reviewed..  
There are two of us, and we have always loved the Harry Potter universe, and Adele has been a character we have long pondered upon writing a fanfiction on.  
We'd love to hear what you guys think about our story, and ****Adele may seem like a bit of a Mary Sue at first, but it gets better we promise!****  
**

**Oh and, DISCLAIMER all rights go to J.K. Rowling except for Adele and the others you don't recognise from Harry Potter.**

Enjoy!

CHAPTER ONE

ADELE P.O.V.

"EW" I squeaked covering my eyes with my hands. "Ew, ew, ew, ew"

I could hear some shuffling and a disgruntled gasp. "Della!" I heard someone proclaim.

"Is it safe yet?"

"Quite" said the amused voice. I peaked from behind my hands just to make sure and my disgusted gaze connected with steel grey eyes.

"I though we talked about this. _No_ tongue hockey on the train." I said glaring at Draco and then at Pansy who happened to be draped over him.

I mean I got kissing. I got kissing with people. I got Draco kissing people- I mean he was the equivalent to the sex god of Hogwarts and being his best friend I'm used to his antics. What I _did_ _not_ get was Draco kissing Pugface on a regular basis. _In public_. _Like_ _that_.

That stuff should be illegal.

But then again, Draco _had been_ dropped on his head when he was a child- it could've caused a permanent mental imbalance.

And my twin chose that precise moment to stroll into the cabin- me standing in the doorway to our train compartment and Pansy clinging, strategically glaring daggers at me, to Draco like a while he just looked extremely amused at my disgust.

"Ahhh" said Blaise coming up behind me. "Again? Seems like you've had an early start this year"

I glared at him as he moved past me to get into the compartment while I stubbornly stood in the doorway. He grinned at Draco as he threw himself in the opposite seat and Draco winked.

What about this was _funny_? This was scarring.

Draco just sat there grinning from ear to ear at Blaise with that smug look on his face. I would've slapped him but I didn't want to contaminate myself with Parkinson's germs.

Blaise sighed when he saw that I wasn't making a move to sit down. "Adele" he said.

"No" I said "Nope. Absolutely not" I said stubbornly. "I agreed to sitting with her, not to witnessing a porn film next to me 24/7. I will tolerate her presence but beyond that I'm not doing anything"

"Dracoooo" the little monster whined.

Lovely. I should've known she wouldn't have kept quiet for long.

"Can't she leave?" Parkinson sneered. "I don't see why she has to sit-"

"Pansy" Draco said sharply. "Didn't I tell you-" he broke off as the train made a violent lurch forward and losing my footing, I stumbled. He shot forward, unceremoniously dumping Pansy on the floor as his arms came around my waist, steadying me. Sometimes I forgot how fast he was; he had the ability to move like lightening- I guess his being the Slytherin Seeker had a role to play in that. I looked at him gratefully and he gave me one of his rare, genuine smiles. I don't even think anyone other than the two of us had ever even seen him smile properly and though my feelings for him were and would always be strictly platonic, Draco Malfoy smiling was breathtaking.

"Thank you"

"For what?" he whispered in my ear "Dropping Parkinson or catching you?"

"I would gladly fall a million times if it meant I got to saw Pugface like that" And we both grinned as I glanced at Pansy. Her expression nearly made me laugh out loud and then she shrieked and all desire to do so evaporated.

"Ow!" Pugface said I closed my eyes praying for tolerance and he rolled his eyes in irritation.

"Are you alright?" he asked me instead, completely ignoring her.

"Fine" I said.

I hadn't realized till that point that I had knotted my hands in his robes but from the way Pansy's cheeks were flushed red and she was staring at us, I wasn't moving them anytime soon. Catching my hand in an iron like hold he walked the two steps with me and ensured I sat down properly before sitting down himself- he really had no trust in me. I wasn't that much of a klutz- on my better days I could even go without banging into a door. Stubbed toes was a different matter, I always ended up doing that. Parkinson continued to stare at us, her mouth slightly agape.

"Really Pansy you should consider getting off the floor." drawled Draco.

"Do you want a hand?" my twin offered.

It was kind of pathetic the way that Pugface's eyes welled up immediately as she gazed at Draco silently pleading him to care. She blatantly hero worshipped him and he couldn't have cared less. He only went after her because she was easy and available and he was just too lazy to go talk to another girl. By the end of week he would've moved onto one of the million girls who routinely threw themselves his way and no matter how much I hated her a part of me felt sorry for that.

That was the thing about him- he never ran after girls, they always ran after him.

Blaise sighed and extended his hand. "Pansy you might-"

But Pansy totally ignored him in the process of getting up, giving one last tearful look to Draco and flouncing out of the Compartment. She did pause to shoot me a venomous look at the door though before disappearing into the doorway to bitch about me to anyone who'd listen.

The hatred came back full force.

"Hey, look at this" Draco said leaning in towards me extending the most recent copy of The Quibbler.

Okay so just because he'd been nice enough to save me from falling on my ass did not mean I was still not irritated at the git.

"Don't touch me" I said sharply. "I don't know where those hands have been"

"Really?" he said raising his eyebrow. "I thought from the expression on your face it was pretty clear that my hand was on her-"

"Shut up!" I said and he and Blaise burst out laughing. "Why?" I seethed. "Why do you insist on doing this?" I demanded looking at Draco.

"Your face…" Blaise echoed and the laugher started afresh. I grabbed the cope of The Quibbler and hurled it at Blaise and they laughed harder.

Sometimes I felt like he just did it to irritate me. Not because Pansy was desperate or because he was lazy but because I hated her.

"Could you at least try-" I began "-to keep it in your pants?" I asked Draco. "I mean at least till we reach Hogwarts? Then you can pick any one else or even her I'll tolerate. Just please don't make it the first thing I see when I come back- what a terrible start to what's supposed to be a good year"

He sighed. "Fine. I promise. No more Pansy on the train. There happy? Now would you quit whining?"

"Depends" I said giving him a sideways look. "Do you promise no more Pansy for at least _week_?"

He opened his mouth to say something but I gave him a stubborn look before he could even do that and he sighed. "Fine. No Pansy for a week" and my face lit up in an immediate grin.

"We pamper her too much" Blaise muttered to Draco.

"Who knew she'd become so demanding" Draco muttered back in agreement.

I opened my mouth to protest. "Excuse me-" I started out indignantly intending to remind them how many times my docile nature had pulled them out of hairy situations.

"Let's not have this conversation" Blaise said hastily. "She might just ask for our ear next."

"Ha. Ha. Funny" I said but I grinned none the less. I knew they made more concessions for me than they did for anybody else just like they knew that half of whatever they did was to tease me.

I loved my brother and best friend more than anything, though have fun trying to get me to admit that in front of them. Blaise had been my pillar of strength ever since I could remember. We entered this world together, well I was first obviously, but Blaise had always been the Golden child, to our mother anyway. My mother and I never had maintained a healthy relationship, but it had gotten worse after she left my dad, she hopped from man to man like a flea. The only reason I didn't pack up and leave was Blaise. We looked nothing alike, although we were twins. With his olive skin, ebony hair and chocolate eyes, he was the splitting image of our mother. On the other hand, I had dark, wavy red hair (I said dark red, not carrot colour like the pathetic Weasleys), skin the colour of cream, and midnight blue eyes. I hated the fact that people often took a double take when they found out that Blaise and I were related. He was my baby brother, and it was Blaise and Adele forever. Until, of course I met the Draco Malfoy.

At first, I hated his guts. He was an arrogant prick, and I wanted to kill him. We hated each other for quite some time till our second year, when we realised it was more fun hating other people together. Since then, the three of us have become inseparable. Draco was always there, fiercely protective of me. We knew each other better than we knew ourselves. And that's where we are now, three idiots, on our way to lunacy, but making that journey together.

"So how was France?" Blaise asked Draco.

"The usual" he said "How was living with husband number nine?"

Blaise glowered. Draco knew enough to shut up.

"I'm going out for some air" proclaimed Blaise, his face green. Poor child, train rides never really agreed with him.

I knew I didn't want to spoil my train journey to Hogwarts with talk of that despicably rotund man my mother had picked up from Knockturn Alley, and I was quite certain that Draco's next words were going to be about said horror, so I decided have a little fun with my wand.

"Wheeee!" The look on Draco's face was priceless.

"You should really try this sometime you know, it's very calming," I suggested sagely, twirling my wand around my fingers.

Draco looked quite horrified at the thought and I giggled. Sparks flew out of the wand and unfortunately dyed Draco's hair a rather unflattering pink.

Oops. I decided to put my wand away before it caused any further damage, just in time from Blaise's timely return from the bathroom.

Brother dear, being the incredibly intelligent individual that he was decided to sit down and take a sip of water before observing Draco's makeover. Water sprayed out from his mouth like it would from the spout of a blue whale, and Draco and I managed to get severely drenched. Really, I had to speak with the boy about the volume of water he could store in his mouth. It was unhealthy.

"You…you," it seemed like Blaise could only gasp and gape like a goldfish. Sadly, he managed to get two more words out, "Your…hair?"

Draco immediately shrieked like a fangirl and glanced at his reflection in the window beside us.

It took a second for his expression to change from shock to murderous. He turned around slowly to look around and throttle me, but I was clever enough to jump up and run out of the compartment, fearing for my life.

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	2. The Eventful Train Ride

CHAPTER TWO

ADELE P.O.V.

Draco followed me and barreled down the train like a freight train. He was furious, he prized his hair above anything else, apparently it was a, "sheen of gold no one had ever seen before." On another happy occasion it was a, "silver to compare to the shade of the moon." Yeah, he loves to contradict himself.

Coming back to our nice little game of tag, with my life hanging in the balance, I was running as fast as I could from the maniac. Just then, a compartment door in front of me opened and a boy peered out, no doubt trying to pinpoint all the commotion. Being the klutz I was, I tried to jet start my brakes, but they started malfunctioning, and I tripped over my own feet to crash headlong into the poor boy in front of me.

I groaned, and opened my eyes to find a gorgeous pair of green eyes locked onto mine.

Harry.

I was struck by the similarity to another event, my very first day at Hogwarts.

_I was getting thoroughly put out, sitting in the stuffy compartment. My slight claustrophobia was getting enhanced by the tittering of the girls sitting around me. Apparently, Harry Potter was on the train for his first year, too. Apparently, he was so good-looking that the girls, led by Pansy Parkinson, whose face revoltingly reminded me of a cross between a slug and a pug, could not stop raving on about his ebony black hair, his beautiful green eyes, and his alluring scar. I had had quite enough of Pugface for eternity, so I haughtily stood up to leave. She didn't like that, she was under the impression that her tale was extremely gripping, and stood up to block my way out the door._

_Bad decision._

"_Where are you going, Zabini?"_

"_Out. I though I made it perfectly clear by the direction I was going in, Parkinson."_

"_I think it very rude and unladylike to interrupt our happy conversation and saunter off."_

"_I don't think it wise to take advice on proper behavior from a common pig in an unflattering outfit." I wrinkled my nose at her hideous outfit._

"_HOW DARE YOU! I…"_

"_I'm very sure you would have had an appropriate response, but I have better things to do than argue aimlessly with a witless troll."_

_With that pleasant goodbye, I left a fire-breathing pug back in the compartment and I strolled down the aisle. Feeling my stomach start to rumble, I looked around for the trolley I had already bought a number of Pumpkin Pasties from. Ah, there it was, a few steps away. Seeing as there was only one chocolate frog left, I increased my pace to a half-stroll, half-run. I must have looked quite hilarious. My gaze was on the chocolate frog and I didn't notice a compartment door open in front of me and I accidentally fell on top of him, knocking him to the ground._

_He was quite comfortable actually, I felt like I had fallen on a pillow of feathers. Metaphorically, of course. The boy groaned and opened his eyes, which were a startling green, with flecks of gold and amber. I realized I had been staring into his eyes, probably looking like a stalker-child, so I smiled, which probably looked dodgy and did nothing to raise his comfort levels. _

_Then I remembered why I was there in the first place, food. The trolley was a hand's-breadth away, and I reached for it, not realizing the boy had the same incentive. We ended up knocking hands with each other, but his arm was longer, and he plucked the prize. _

_He looked at me, smiled, and offered me the frog. Looking back, I would have realized what an attractive grin he had, but my younger self had her priorities straight, food first, hot guys later._

_I accepted it, returning the smile. I was not that greedy, no matter what popular vote said. I ended up taking the frog and giving him the card. This was apparently a solution that worked well for him as well, for his smile when he took the card featuring Dumbledore, was radiant._

"_I'm Adele." I offered him the hand that wasn't sticky with chocolate. He shook it._

"_Harry."_

I blinked. I'd been staring at his face like a lunatic whilst lost in thought. Oh my god, he must think I'm even crazier now. It's just his body had felt so warm, so- no stop it Adele. You are not going to lust after Harry Potter. Why hadn't I moved instead of looking into his lovely, lovely green orbs like an eleven year old with a gigantic crush on the Chosen One?

That was easy to answer.

Because I couldn't.

While I 'd had my little trip down memory lane I'd conveniently forgotten ( how, I don't know) that when I'd fallen over and taken him down with me (Slytherins don't go down alone) we'd fallen as such that he was on top of me.

Then why hadn't he moved?

A slight frown marred my forehead as I gave him a questioning glance. He was still staring at me. I gave him a light shove on the shoulder as if to say- what are you doing, stop it.

"Hi" he said.

He wanted to have conversation? Now? When I was pinned beneath him in a corridor on the Hogwarts Express where any teacher could walk past and observe what they'd no doubt think of as a sexual escapade? I was Slytherin, they wouldn't even put it past me regardless of the fact that I had never once given them cause to believe that I indulged in that sort of thing. Being a member of Slytherin house, Blaise's twin and Draco's best friend I automatically became the sort of girl that had sexual rendezvous in broom cupboards.

"Hello" If he was crazy, so was I.

"How was summer?" His breathe was fanning my lips and I was no doubt blushing to the roots of my red hair. What was it about him that made me like this?

"Good. Fun. Great. Yours?"

His eyes darkened. "I think you know the answer to that" How stupid could I get? There were so many stories about how his adopted parents treated him and it wasn't very nicely but I didn't listen in too much- listening to petty gossip didn't do it for me.

"Right. Sorry. My summer sucked too" the words were out before I could stop them. Wait, what? Hadn't I just told him that my summer had been great?

He quirked an eyebrow and smiled at me though he didn't say anything.

"I mean, it didn't suck. I went to Albania." Did I sound like a snob? "I mean Albania wasn't that great. There were goats everywhere. They're really violent. This one time we were delayed. Because of a goat" I wanted to eat my tongue. "But like there were nice goats too. Like there was this one pair that I befriended. They were twins. Lefki and Polki. They were owned by a Greek couple. They had very nice, um….._hair_." Stop talking Adele. "You know different goats have different hair. I tried to touch the hair of this one goat and it was really mean and then it butted me and I have this huge mark on my thigh now where it's horn hit me. I could _show_ you the mark if you like-"

"I'd like that" he said stopping my rambling short. Goosebumps broke out on my skin. He had such a deep voice. I was blushing so hard I thought I was going to combust.

"Uh…."

"I bet it hurt a lot too" The intimacy of the situation we were in suddenly struck me. One of his hands was under my shoulder and the other was on my waist and I was literally struck to him like glue. It was when we'd fallen he'd tried to pull me closer. Like he was…protecting me? Okay I couldn't take this anymore. The thought of being anyone's damsel in distress irritated me more than anything. If brother dear and the Great Draconian made me irate at best what could be said for poor Harry?

"Hey!" I said brightly. "Could you please, you know, move?"

"Sure" he said a tad cooler and I immediately regretted it. He removed his hands from me and braced them on my side. His eyes locked on mine. My heart promptly started racing and my intestines felt like they were being tied up in knots by the huge butterflies I felt in my stomach. I decided to focus on Harry's eyes, thinking it might lessen the feeling of ecstasy my body was in right now. That was possibly the worst decision I have ever made in my life. His eyes drew me in, and I noticed flecks of gold in them, trapped in the mesmerizing forest of green. He was getting closer, dangerously close, tantalizingly close. I wanted to close my eyes but I couldn't, I was trapped.

"POTTER GET OFF HER BEFORE I CURSE YOU TO OBLIVION" yelled a very familiar voice.

I closed my eyes. Draco.


	3. I'm on a Highway to Hell

CHAPTER THREE

DRACO P.O.V.

A little bit of an introduction- I'm Malfoy, Draco Malfoy, and my hair is usually _not pink._ I don't usually chase after miscreants on trains, and I generally don't feel like strangling my best friend in her sleep. I ran after Adele, catching a glance of my atrocious pink hair in the glass window. I turned back, and was greeted by empty space. Adele had clearly evaded my tantrum. For now.

Just then, an orange ball of fur blocked my path forward. I squinted, it seemed to be a sort of feline with a face that looked like it had been crushed by a bludger on many occasions. It suddenly dawned on me, this was Granger's horrifying cat, which ever since last year had gone out of its way to make my life a living hell. The owner of this disgusting creature would obviously not be far behind, and I looked around to make sure the coast was clear. That was a bad decision.

The moment my eyes left the cat, it sprang on me like some kind of rabid animal. Strike that, it probably was a rabid animal. Oh Salazar, I couldn't afford to get rabies, I was Draco Malfoy, for crying out loud. I had money, girls, fame, and a legacy I had to carry forth- I was-OW! The stupid brute had tried to claw my face, where was my wand?

"Crookshanks, no! Get off him now!" Oh perfect, the bushy-haired, rabbit-toothed nerd was here to add to my humiliation. The imbecile crawled disgruntledly off my chest and I looked up.

The orange-haired menace was being cuddled by a witch, who hadn't yet changed into her robes, and was looking quite alluring in her jeans and T-shirt. I smirked, puberty has certainly done her well.

"Malfoy, my eyes are up here," she uttered in an incredibly put off tone. That's when I noticed how much Granger had changed over the summer. Her chocolate brown hair had grown longer, and no longer looked like a bird's nest, but rather fell in waves and curls to her shoulders. Her bunny teeth had shrunk, and her complexion was as clear as ever. Her hazel eyes sparkled, and her lips parted-

"MALFOY, what are you gawking at? Stop smirking, or make no mistake, I will Bat Bogey Hex you all the way to that blasted manor you call your home! You almost killed my cat"

"I almost killed your cat? Are you blind, Granger? That creature tried to claw my eyes out!"

"It was self-defense against creeps like you!"

"If you had eyes, Granger, you'd see that I am clearly the most sought after creep Hogwarts has ever seen."

"I do, actually. All I can see is a desperate child with pink hair," drawled Hermione.

Merlin, I had forgotten about my hair. Curse Granger.

I floundered, speechless for probably the first time in my life. I drew myself up, giving her the snootiest expression I was capable of at the time, and she ducked her head. I almost smiled, but caught myself.

"That disaster should be locked up." I don't know what it was about Granger that forced me to behave like the prick everyone thought I was.

Her expression changed immediately. "Tell me how to look after my cat again, and I'll help you forget the miracle of speech."

I was about to retort, when I heard a crash. I sighed, and bit my lip. There was only one person who could possibly trip over nothing while running away from an angered companion.

"This isn't over, Granger."

I caught a glimpse of her expression- it was a cross between anger, exasperation and amusement.

I turned, and walked down the length of the train, aware of her presence behind me. I reached the scene and noticed the cause of the commotion, and I immediately wanted to burn my eyes out of my skull, or throttle Potter, preferably both.

I remembered drawing my wand out (finally) and screaming something unintelligible. It worked, because Adele turned bright red and scrambled to her feet, shoving Potter off his previous position ON TOP OF HER.

Adele looked like she wanted to throw herself off a cliff. "Draco-"

Potter didn't even have the decency to look embarrassed. The filth pulled out his wand and cleaned it on his grubby robes. Gold sparks shot out of the end. He raised his arm, glaring at me.

"Harry" said Adele, her voice a whisper. She took his arm, and dropped it. Her expression would have been funny had she not been sprawled across my sworn enemy a few moments ago.

The tension around us was so thick it could be cut by a knife. None of us moved a muscle. Nobody knew what to do.

Except Hermione, of course.

Granger burst out laughing so hard she almost fell over. She clutched my shoulder to steady herself. It was my turn to look mortified, I couldn't meet Adele's gaze. Her eyes were burning holes at the the back of my head.

I don't know what we would've done if a second year hadn't shouted out that we were almost at Hogwarts. Hermione yelped and rushed off to change. I gave Potter the filthiest look I could muster.

"Della, let's leave." She seemed quite meek as she made her way toward me.

"Adele." Potter's voice stopped her in her tracks. I glared.

She turned around to face him. "What is it?"

"Do you remember my name?"

Adele looked at him as if he had gone batty. Indeed, he seemed to be loonier than usual, which was saying something. "Of course I remember your name, what sort of a question is that?"

The imbecile seemed undeterred. "What is it?"

"Harry, Harry Potter," said Adele, speaking slowly as though she were talking to a child.

"Good. At least you didn't forget, unlike the last time we met."

Adele's expression morphed from one of bewilderment to complete shock. She turned pale, and looked like she wanted to throw up. Potter seemed pleased with the reaction his question had invoked, and left the scene.

I pulled Adele away from the crowd that had gathered around us, and shoved her gently into our compartment. Blaise looked up from The Quibbler.

ADELE P.O.V.

I sat up so fast that I nearly gave myself a whiplash. I gave Draco a worried glance. Draco was furious and he was arrogant enough to start a duel there and then if he felt that Harry had laid so much as a hand on me.

He drew out his wand and pointed it menacingly at Harry who too pulled out his wand looking furious. I grabbed Harry's arm before he could do anything stupid and he looked at me and his eyes momentarily softened. Draco emitted a soft growl and I whipped my hand back off again and Harry went back on the aggressive. I spied Hermione standing behind Draco and I silently pleaded for her to help- despite what everyone else thought Slytherins and Gryffindors could be friends and that's exactly what we were. She didn't need to be asked twice- she burst out laughing, and almost fell on top of Draco, who turned a violent shade of red. Harry looked like he was on fire. Draco turned his head away refusing to meet my gaze- the git was so embarrassed.

"I d-don't know whether- we're about to reach" a nervous voice broke through and Hermione yelped and rushed out of the Compartment.

"Della, let's leave" Draco said loftily.

I opened my mouth to retort when I realized we were the censure of a million wildly curious eyes. I turned a deeper shade red. One of the Zabini twins and a Malfoy were enough to get them chirping but throw in Hermione and Harry and you've got yourself a party. Plus Draco's hair was pink. _Pink_. I quietly made my way over to him and he immediately grabbed my hand, pulling me close he began to walk out.

"Adele!" Harry's voice made me stop short and Draco stiffened. He was one step away from punching Harry in the face.

I looked at him over my shoulder as if he was an insect. "What is it?" I said in a cool tone.

"Do you remember my name?" he said in a blank tone.

I looked at him as if he'd gone nuts. "Of course I know your name. What sort of a question is that?"

"What is it then?"

Okay just because I had lost my marbles for a while and gone off about goats did not mean I had been hit by an _Obliviate_ spell. "Harry. Harry Potter" I said as if I were talking to a child.

"Good" he seemed satisfied and he turned to leave, took two steps and then thought better of it. He turned and his green gaze bore holes into me. "At least this time you remembered" I looked at him in confusion and then it hit me. I started to feel nauseous and he took one last look at me and left without another word.

Oh God, how could I have forgotten?

_I woke up in a frenzy, completely disoriented to find myself alone in the Slytherin Dormitory - they'd already left for the party we were illicitly holding one of the abandoned classrooms on the third floor due to the fact that school was ending the next day- and I was grateful for the fact. I really didn't feel like listening to Pansy moan about Draco- I'd heard things no one should hear about their best friend, like exactly how flexible he was. I mean, these things just tend to make your day don't they? I lifted the bottle of water lying next to my bed and took a large sip. I nearly gagged when I realized that I'd drunk firewhiskey instead of water but trying to spit it back out was useless. Tears burned my eyes but after a few minutes I felt normal again if a little winded and dizzy. _

_I got out of bed and stretched and tripped over something lying on the ground. I picked up the box and surveyed it. I grinned- chocolates. Blaise knew just how to perk me up. I'd been feeling pretty down and out lately. My mother's upcoming nuptial with husband eight didn't make me feel too happy. I sat down on the edge of my bed and picked up a chocolate and ate it. Why did she have to go ahead and get married again? I thought as I ate. Why couldn't she ask us for a change what we'd like? We weren't bad kids- we were the perfect children in the most literal sense of the word. I was poised and sophisticated when need be and Blaise was a gentleman- we worked the Pureblood tag like we were born to. Ha. I guess we were. The thought that no matter what we did, specifically me, never seemed to make her proud still made me unbearably sad. I swallowed the chocolate and the one solution to all my problems struck me. _

Dean. Dean Thomas.

_Oh my god, I was so in love with him. If I told him I loved him, everything would be alright. My mother would love me, I'd know who my father was, Pansy would die. Yeah, that was it. I should tell him the first thing tomorrow. Wait, why tomorrow? I'd tell him today. I'd tell him now! I glided out of the Common Room and into the secluded Halls. I reached the portrait of the Fat Lady in record time. _

"_I'm ready" I said. "Open the door" _

"_Password please" _

"_You don't understand. I love Dean Thomas. I need to tell him I love him now" _

_She laughed. I wanted to rip her apart shred by shred. "No password. No Entry." _

_After a few moments I realized that no matter what I did she wouldn't let me in unless I had the password. I flounced off in anger. What should I do? I thought to myself. I needed to seen Dean tonight. His lovely hair, charming smile and freckles, I sighed, Dean. What if some other slag took Dean from me? No, Dean had to know today. I loved him after all. _

_It was only a few minutes later that I was standing outside the Castle, looking up at Gryffindor Tower trying to discern which window would lead to Dean's room. Oh my little Deanpuff must be so cold, so lonely without me. It must be tenth window to the right, the twelfth from the bottom. Oh, even if it wasn't who cared? I Accioed my broom there and flew up until I was outside the requisite window. I peered in, it was still quite dark but who cared. I tried to open the window but it was locked. It didn't matter, these petty hurdles couldn't keep me apart from my one true love. _

"_Alohamora" I whispered and the locks opened. I graciously let myself into the room- I would have to talk to Deany-poo about that, locking your soulmate out of a room in the middle of the night simply wasn't acceptable, he should've been able to sense I was coming. I let go of my broom and it felt over and hit something that fell over and I tripped on. I yelped. I heard some shuffling and I saw the silhouette of someone sitting up in the room. Oh that must be him- he'd already known I was coming after all. _

"_Who's there?" he said in his deep voice. I tiptoed over to his bed and jauntily pushed him back on it._

"_Who do you think babe?" I said giving him a saucy smile. _

"_Adele?" _

"_Were you expecting someone else?" I snapped but before he could reply I slipped into bed next to him. "It's alright" I said magnanimously, kissing his shoulder. "The past is in the past. I forgive you for not realizing sooner that I was the one meant for you" I kissed his collar bone and then his cheek and he finally began to relax against me and he put his arms around me and pulled me closer into the warmth of his body. I giggled and then pouted. "Why aren't you kissing me?" He moved forward and kissed my cheek and I could feel his breath on my lips, I knew he was seconds away from kissing me. I looped my arms around his neck. "I love you Dean Thomas" I proclaimed with a giggle. _

_He froze. _"Dean?"

_I stiffened as he moved off me at the speed of light and switched on the bedside lamp. I squinted as the sudden light and sat up in the rumpled sheets. "Ow, Merlin's Beard you're acting weird. Come back to bed" _

"Adele. I'm not Dean"

"_What do you mean you're not-" I blinked a couple of times and a face materialized before mine. "Oh" I said in a disappointed voice bouncing off the bed. "That was you?" I asked Harry. "Never mind, do you know which room is Dean's?" I asked. "Whoops" I giggled as I tripped. Strong arms gripped mine. _

"_Adele" Harry said firmly. "Are you alright?" _

"_Of course" I said giggling "Now where's Dean?" _

"_How did you get here?" _

"_I flew, duh" I said like he was stupid, moving out of his embrace to go past him. I started to feel a little dizzy._

"You flew to the twelfth floor to meet Dean in the middle of the night?"

"_Of course. He needs to know I love him. No other slag can have him" I twirled on my heel and then yelled. "Dean! DEAN! COME HERE! WHERE ARE YOU? I LOVE YOU. DEAN THOMAS I LOVE Y-" I was silenced when Harry threw his hand over my mouth and I bit his hand in anger. He yelped and pulled it back "Wait till Dean hears about this. He will not be happy" I said turning away from him to flounce off in search of Dean. Before I could though, I felt on the ground, black spots appearing in my vision._

"_Della?" Harry whispered crouching down besides me. _

"_Can't move…hurt" I bit out through the pain pulsing through my body and head. _

_The next second I was being lifted up and being carried somewhere. _

_I woke up the next day in the Infirmary Wing and blinked a few times. My throat felt incredibly dry and my body hurt. I groaned. _

"_She's awake!" I heard someone yell. _

"_Oh thank Salazar" I heard Draco's concerned drawl. I tried to sit up, a firm hand pushed me down again. _

"_No you're still tired" _

"_What happened?" I croaked. _

"_Millicent" Blaise said in disgust. "She gave you a love potion in the chocolates except she made the potion wrong. She left Firewhiskey on your Cabinet because she thought it would be funny but the combination of the wrong potion and Firewhiskey wasn't too great- she poisoned you instead. _

"_The slag could have killed you" Draco spat viciously. "I though you were dead when I walked in this morning- you kept slipping in and out of consciousness"_

_I closed my eyes as memories cam rushing back to me. Breaking into Gryffindor Towers, kissing Harry, yelling out that I loved Dean, Harry carrying me to the Infirmary, Harry talking to Madam Pomphrey, Harry sitting next to my bed, Harry holding my hand through the night, Harry leaving in the morning" _

'_How did you find me?" _

"_You didn't come back last night so we went searching for you and Alicia told us that she'd heard you were here. We nearly had a cardiac arrest when we saw you"_

"_Has everyone already left?"  
"Ages ago. But because you weren't in any position to leave we were allowed to stay" _

_I turned my head away and curled up on my side. _

"_Della, we're sorry. We never thought something like this would happen- if we'd known she was this crazy about Draco we'd have done something, you know that" Blaise pleaded. _

"_Della" Draco begged. _

"_Forget it. I'm fine now" I said flatly. _

_But I wasn't fine. I crawled into his bed and thrown myself at him and then proclaimed I loved someone else. He'd saved my life and I hadn't even said thank you. How could I ever look at Harry Potter again?_

Turns out it wasn't that hard to gaze at him, I thought, blinking out the memory.

The rest of the ride to Hogwarts was a blur of voices and faces none of which I could remember.

**REVIEW!**


	4. The Great Hall Debacle

CHAPTER FOUR  
ADELE P.O.V.

The Great Hall had never ceased to amaze me, but today as I gazed over at the chandeliers, the long golden-brown tables, the high chairs at the end of the room for the professors, I felt nothing but a dull ache. I still hadn't been able to get the infirmary incident out of my head.  
There had been some talk about giant Pegasus-carried carriages flying out from the sky, and a huge ship emerging from the Black Lake, but I couldn't pay any attention to them, due to my brain almost exploding from too much Harry.

As a result, I entered the Great Hall looking like a zombie. If it hadn't been for Draco and Blaise sandwiching me like a couple of bodyguards, I wouldn't have been able to find myself a seat.

"Drakey-poo!"

"Zabini, how's it going?"

"Adele, hi!"

Oh joy, we had arrived in time to meet the rest of our brethren. I shook my head devoid of thoughts of a certain Gryffindor, and smiling took a seat next to Theodore Nott.

"Hey Theo, how was your summer?"  
"Pretty good, though Stella left home for St. Mungos."  
I winced. There was no one in the world Theo Nott cared for more than his sister, Estella.  
"Don't worry Theo, I'll make it up to you. I have chocolates back at the dorm, and they're screaming your name." Theo grinned. He had quite an attractive smile, if only I wasn't hung up on that idiot Potter. Speaking of whom, I hadn't seen him enter the Hall. I looked around for him at the Gryffindor table. Just then, I felt a pair of eyes on me. I turned, praying their colour would not be a definitive green. Lo and behold, they were.

Harry was staring at me from his seat right across from mine, two tables away. He was sitting with Hermione and the Weasley boy, as usual, but he had eyes only for me. I would love to say that I was as confident as I usually make myself out to be, but reality had me blush like an idiot and look away quickly.

Fortunately, a distraction in the form of Crabbe materialized in front of me.  
"Crabbe!" I yelled joyfully. Vincent Crabbe had been a personification of precisely one-third of my humour over the three years I called Hogwarts my home. He was an adorable soul at heart, even though he looked like a Rottweiler.

Crabbe grinned, and his face looked like it was being torn apart. "Adele!"  
He sat down, but the poor dear accidentally tipped the table forward, so that the chair across from him precariously tipped, dumping a furious Millicent Bullstrode down to the ground.

I howled with laughter, almost falling down myself, before Draco steadied me.  
Millicent opened her mouth, but was interrupted by the raised arms of Professor Dumbledore.

The command and control Dumbledore exercised over such large gatherings of teenage wizards was incredible. Everyone stopped what they were doing, and tuned into Dumbledore's words with complete attention.  
"Now that we're all settled and sorted, I would like to make an announcement."  
It was about time, I was ravenously hungry and wanted nothing more than to dig into glorious food.

"This year, Hogwarts will not only be your home, but home to some very special guests as well. You see, Hogwarts has been chosen to host a legendary event."  
I furrowed my brow, he had peaked my curiosity.  
"Oh, I know. My father told me about this," said Draco loftily.  
I wanted to slap him.  
"You little worm. Why didn't you tell us about it?"  
Draco was about to reply, but Blaise shushed him.

"The Tri-Wizard Tournament."

A gaggle of voices began whispering, Dumbledore's spell over his audience broken.  
I had heard a little about the tournament from my no-good mother, apparently it was all about conquest and dangerous things and glory, attributes that I would never be capable of, according to her. I glanced at Draco, I knew him better than anyone else, which is why I knew that he would be an eager competitor.

"Now for those of you who do not know, the Tri-Wizard Tournament brings together three schools for a series of magical contests. From each school, a single contestant is selected to compete."  
"That's going to be me." It seemed as though Draco was incapable of keeping his mouth shut.  
I glared at him, his superior expression melting away.  
"Now let me be clear- if chosen, you stand alone. And trust me when I say these contests are not for the faint-hearted."

Draco puffed out his chest. Pansy drooled. "Oh, Drakey, my hero," she swooned.  
I shot her a disgusted look and hit Draco on his rock-hard chest. He smirked. I stuck my tongue out at him.  
"Please help me welcome the lovely ladies of the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, and their headmistress Madame Maxime."

The double-doors opened to the reasons I will never have a boyfriend. The women who fluttered in were incomparably beautiful. Jaws dropped indiscriminately. Their bodies were swathed in blue silk and their perfume was overpowering.  
One of them stepped out, her silky blonde hair flowing down her shoulders. She looked up demurely, from under long lashes fringing sky blue eyes. She had a smirk on her doll-like features and her rosy lips parted in a sigh. Boys stared at her, transfixed. Girls stared at her, transfixed. Professor Flitwick stared at her, transfixed. I glanced over at the Gryffindor table. Harry was quite openly gaping at the girl.  
Rage flowed through me, and I clenched my fists under the table. I glared at the girl. I wanted to devour her soul. Who did she think she was, prancing around acting like the goddess I knew she was?

I was distracted from my vindictive thoughts by an abnormally large woman striding in, through the doors. She made her way up to the podium to Dumbledore, who had to bend down to kiss her knuckles with as much dignity as he could muster. She waved her hands, and all the breathtaking females glided over to the Ravenclaw table, where Hogwart's students eagerly made place for them.  
Dumbledore's voice boomed out again, "And now, meet the proud sons of Durmstrang."

The double doors opened again. I accidentally bit my tongue.  
Streaming through the door, one after another, were the most attractive males I had ever seen concentrated in one gathering. The level of testosterone went through the roof as my eyes flew from one to the other. They were dressed in capes that hid their bulging muscles underneath. One of them, clad in grey, with tousled black hair and molten gray eyes caught my eye. He looked flushed, the pink in his cheeks clashing adorably with his pale skin. He lifted his chin to display his exquisite bone structure, and turned towards me. Our eyes locked, and he winked.  
Draco growled, and threw his arm around my shoulders protectively. The boy smirked and turned away, but not before I caught the glint in Harry's eyes, and apprehended gleefully, his murderous expression.

My scandalous thoughts were interrupted by a well-built man with a fluffy cape, and a disgruntled expression. He looked vaguely familiar, so I peered at him, and my eyes grew wide.  
"Della, what is it?"  
"Blaise that's Viktor Krum!"

I almost had a fangirl moment right then and there, and would've probably shrieked had it not been for my brother's warning hand on mine. Viktor Krum was my favourite Quidditch player, and ever since the World Cup, I had been in raptures about him.  
To my gleeful surprise, the Durmstrang lot were made to sit at the Slytherin table. I had half hoped that Krum would be sitting here too, but apparently a seat for him had been reserved at the professors' table. My disappointment rapidly changed to heart palpitations when I noticed the boy from earlier that evening make his way toward me. He eventually reached Crabbe, who slid sideways to accommodate our new guest.

As if on cue, magical plates of food situated themselves before us. I could hardly control my excitement, it had been ages since I had eaten. I immediately heaped a generous slice of what looked like a huge pie onto my plate. I looked at it quizzically. "This isn't an English dish."  
"It's called Pirog. Famous Russian dish," added the mystery boy, in heavily accented English.  
"Oh, and what do people call you?" I fluttered my lashes coyly. "My name is Sergei, pretty lady."  
I giggled, blushing. "I'm Adele."  
"And I'm Draco. Nice to meet you, touch her and I will rip your throat out."

My eyes widened. I could not believe he just said that. But Sergei didn't seem to mind, he looked like he received death threats from arrogant blondes about their redheaded best friends all the time. "The pleasure is all mine, Drakoo," he replied mispronouncing 'Draco' to an extent where 'Drakoo' turned red with rage.  
Blaise burst out laughing, and Theo and I joined in.

"Your attention, please." Yet again, I turned to face Dumbledore, begrudgingly so, but my eyes flicked toward Harry, his expression unreadable.  
"I would like to say a few words- Eternal Glory; that is what awaits the student who wins the Tri-Wizard Tournament. But to do this, you will have to complete three extremely dangerous tasks. For this, the Ministry of Magic has seen fit to impose a new rule. To explain this, we have the Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation: Mr. Bartemius Crouch to—"

Professor Dumbledore was cut off by what seemed like a décor malfunction. The enchanted ceiling exploded into a shower of sparks. At a second glance, I saw that it was actually lightning. Lightning and thunder raging across the enchanted ceiling. Draco's hand found mine and I looked over at his face, paler than usual. Draco never did have a penchant for thunder, ever since he was left outside by his nanny, during a thunderstorm.

I wasn't bothered much by it, I actually though storms were beautiful. Theo interrupted my musings by nudging me, and I looked over in the direction he pointed. I yelped, and almost jumped out of my skin. There was a terrifying man hobbling towards us with his one leg, matted ginger hair and a plastic eyeball. I'm not going to lie, he was probably one of the most horrifying people I have ever met in my life. And my mother buys prostitutes from Knockturn Alley. The man raised his wand, shouted something unintelligible, and the storm immediately dissipated.

"Who's that?" I whispered to Blaise, affirmative that the inner Ministry geek in him would know the answer. "That's Mad-Eye Moody, he used to be an Auror for the Ministry. Crazy good, before he became as loony as a Lovegood."  
"Why is he here?" asked Draco, quite over his thunderstorm fit.  
"There's been some word that he's going to be the new Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor," supplied Theo.

Oh no. Defence was one of my favourite subjects, besides Potions of course, and the thought of having to look to that vulgar man for knowledge was downright scary. I composed myself and looked back up to the professors' dais and saw Moody take a seat. Perfect. I made a face as a wizard stepped onto the podium and began the most anticipated speech yet.

"After much deliberation," started Barty Crouch, "the Ministry has concluded that for their own safety, no student under the age of seventeen shall be allowed to put forth their name for the Tri-Wizard Tournament."  
There was a milli-second of silence for rapidly vanishing dreams of conquest and glory and dangerous things, before there was a huge uproar.

"THAT'S RUBBISH!" The Weasley twins seemed eager to put into words the thoughts of almost every teenage boy under seventeen present in the Great Hall. "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING!"  
Draco looked furious. He opened his mouth, but I beat him to it. "Please Draco, if the words coming out of your mouth have anything to do with "My father" and "hearing about this", I will have to accidentally redeem your hair colour to its previous shade."  
Blaise roared, so did half the Slytherin table until Draco sent them a look.

Dumbledore chose this moment to reveal the spectacular Goblet of Fire, a shade of never before seen crystal blue, tongued with a gold border. Blue flames shot out of its mouth and licked the air tantalizingly.  
"Anyone wishing to submit themselves for the Tournament," added Dumbledore, "must merely write their name down upon a piece of parchment and throw it into the flames before this hour on Thursday night. "Do not do so lightly, for if chosen, there is no going back."  
"As of this moment, the Tri-Wizard Tournament has begun."

Almost everyone had finished eating, only I was left polishing off the last bits of 'Lymonnyk', or so Sergei had told me. Pansy was getting quite restless, she wanted to go cuddle up with her Drakey-poo, and her whining was really getting on my nerves.  
"Draco, I beg you, please go make out with Pansy and shut her up so I needn't be privy to her squeaky tones."  
Draco smirked at me, quite amused. "Really Della, you want a repeat of that train incident? I could oblige—"  
"NO, OH MY EYES, THEY'RE BURNING!" I shoved Draco off his seat. He got up, laughing. "We'll be in a closet…somewhere."  
"Don't miss us, Adele," simpered Pansy, her arm possessively around Draco. I would have had a retort, but my mouth was to full of delicious lemon cake to respond. It was Sergei's turn to leave, next. "I haff to report back to headquarters, my pretty lady."

He took my arm, and kissed it, turning around to leave. Theo got up next, "I'm off to write to Stella, meet you back at the dorms?" I smiled at him in agreement. I looked around the Slytherin table, now almost empty save a few stragglers, Blaise and I. This was the case at the other three tables as well. I looked over at the last one, covered with red-gold banners, and my heart leaped to see Harry still there.  
I chewed the piece of lemon cake still in my mouth thoughtfully.

"Adele," Blaise began.  
"Mmm?"  
"What in Merlin's name is wrong with you?" I swallowed. "You've not been yourself ever since the train."  
I had always found it hard to keep things from my brother, secrets couldn't be kept from your twin, after all. It was rising up, too fast to halt, and without my consent, the whole incident with Harry, from that fateful night to today afternoon, spilled out.

Blaise blinked. He took a sip of pumpkin juice. He opened his mouth, and closed it.  
His features hardened suddenly, and he got up. I rose with him, apprehensive about where his destination would be. I had the inkling of a feeling that it would be the Gryffindor table, and I was right.  
Blaise stormed toward the Gryffindors, his head held high. I hurried after him, kicking myself for being so stupid as to tell my protective brother about my love life.

"Potter!" Blaise stopped in front of the Gryffindor in question, who looked up, startled. The rest of the table also looked up, like startled rabbits. I wanted to melt down to the ground like the ice-cream dripping from Ron's hand.  
Blaise began his tirade. "Potter, don't you ever think there can ever, ever be anything going on between you and my sister. So keep your dirty thoughts to yourself, and never spew them out in public. My sister remains unviolated and if I ever, ever here of you being anywhere close to naughty with her I will grow you some balls and then castrate you. Look at Adele again, and I will burn your eyes out. Salazar, it was only one night! Plus, she was drunk with love potion, and she never would have done what she did then, while she is still sane. She also loved DEAN, not you, so what gave you the right to invite her into bed? Getting a little ahead of yourself, eh, Potter? If I ever hear of you so much as-"

"ZABINI!" Bless Professor Snape. "Stop screaming like a silly schoolgirl, off to your dorm! One more word and I will slip an overdose of a Draught of Peace into your morning cup of coffee!"

Blaise deflated. He took a deep breath. "I'm watching you, Potter."

Harry gaped like a goldfish. Next to him, Ron had completely disregarded his ice-cream and it was dripping all over his lap. There was utter silence, until, from across the table, Dean replied in amazement, "Adele was in love with me?"  
"Shut up, Dean," retorted Harry, crossly. I closed my eyes, and sighed. Why was it always me?

I placed my hand on the table, knocking over a glass of pumpkin juice all over Ron. He yelped.  
"Oh Merlin, I'm so sorry Ron, I really didn't mean to-" I was cut off by Blaise's hand, tugging me off before I could do any more damage. I cast a last glance at Harry, whose lips twitched at Ron's feeble attempts to get pumpkin juice out of his hair, and I walked out of the Hall, aware of a pair of brilliant green eyes following me.


	5. An Ode to Peeves

CHAPTER FIVE

DRACO'S P.O.V

It touched me. Did I want it to touch me? No. Had I said it could touch me? No. Did it touch me? Yes.

"Dracooooo" Pansy said in an apparently seductive voice running her hand up my chest. I plucked her hand off and shoved it next to her.

"Yeah. No."

"But Dracoooo" she whined. "You said that-"

"I only said that stuff to get to Dells, I wasn't actually planning to do it. I made her a promise and I intend to keep it- I told you as much."

"But-"

I held up my hand. "Don't" and her eyes immediately welled with tears but I turned around and began walking away. I didn't do crying, especially crying girls. I gave it to them straight up; I never made any promises or commitments because I knew I couldn't keep them. Growing up in Malfoy Manor wasn't as easy as everyone liked to believe- it had left deep scars. The constant need to excel at everything, the loneliness, the disapproval of affection, always keeping up appearances, trying to-

My thoughts came to a rapid halt as I spotted Granger walking into the Library. I rolled my eyes- she was so predictable. I followed her- how could I pass up the opportunity?

She looked around and when she was satisfied that she was alone she took off her robe and stretched up to take off her sweater and threw it on the abandoned sofa. She left her hands above her head for a moment, standing on the tip toes of her stupid muggle sneakers, and sighed.

Was Hermione Granger indulging in a striptease? _In the Library?_

She walked two steps and I couldn't help but notice she had the most delectable body- she had filled out over the summer. Her hair had grown and she'd gained a couple of inches, she'd also lost some weight because her body seemed toned, her cheekbones sharper.

I leaned back against the door and looked on with amusement as she pulled her hair out of its ponytail and shook it out.

"Look who has a wild side" I drawled with a lazy smile.

Granger yelped and spun around banging into a bookshelf and then throwing her arms wide to remain upright.

"Malfoy" she gasped.  
"Was that for someone else's benefit?"

"None of your business Malfoy!" she said straightening and crossing her arms under her chest.

Apparently her chest had grown too. Without bothering to stop for her sweater or robe she began to walk out of the Library. I grabbed her hand when she was passing me.

"Leaving so soon? And here I thought the rest was coming off too" I said in a mock disappointed voice.

"Keep your disgusting thoughts to yourself!" she hissed, her color high. She yanked her hand out of mine and began stalking away and I followed her.

"Come on Granger Danger, don't be such a spoilt sport."

"Go away Malfoy" she hissed

I opened my mouth to respond but before I could we were being hit with something large and wet. Hermione shrieked and I grunted.

"Naughty Forth Years were getting too hot, me thinks they needed to cool off!" Peeves roared while throwing more water balloons at us. I grabbed Granger by the waist and threw us both behind a pillar but now before we were both totally drenched. Her shirt was clinging to her and her shirt seemed extremely short now and she was plastered to me. Sweet Salazar, was a I having dirty thoughts about Hermione Granger?

"Eyes up here" she said when she realized that I was staring at her chest but it had a breathless quality. Ha. She was attracted to me too.

"I think it's safe now" I said in a cool tone and she stiffened and nodded, pulling away. We began walking towards the dormrooms, her in front and me behind, both trying to figure out exactly what it is that had just happened. Peeves materialized somewhere in between and I rolled my eyes at him but he grinned at me. A light wind materialized when he swished his hand and I thought nothing of it but Granger's shirt flew up a couple of inches revealing her back. She whirled around, her eyes burning with anger.

"Just because _you_ decided to _stalk _me does not mean you automatically have the right to feel me up you little- little… slimeball!" I blinked. She advanced on me her finger jabbing me in the chest and I took a step back for every step she took forward. "Is that your sleazy plan? To follow girls when they're alone and then harass them?" Okay. What? "Is Peeves part of your plan as well? Is that why we got hit with water balloons?" Yes, I'd include a ghost in my elaborate seduction plans. I'd even sent an invite to my mother. "I mean every girl does not find you irresistible Draco Malfoy-" sure they didn't "- and just because your perverted brain told you that I doing a slow strip tease for your benefit does not mean I was. Every time you think a girl says yes does not mean she says yes." It actually does. "Yes, yes we've all heard of your 'magical hands' and your ability to make a girl scream but I am not one of those girls" she shrieked jabbing me in the chest one more time.

What a flattering assessment. "At least wait till you're asked" I said and she stopped momentarily.

"What?" she said blankly

"I haven't even asked if you want to sleep with me yet" I said drily and she colored. "So d'you want to?" I said in mock happiness

She tensed up again. "I am not the kind of girl who will sleep with you because you're pretty to look at and you've got some experience. More importantly don't you dare go around thinking I am because I swear on Godric Gryffindor's dead soul that I will hex you if you get any such ideas of that sort, understood?

"Understood" I said thought that wasn't exactly true but she relaxed a bit. I looked down at her hand still fixed on my chest. "That's going to bruise" and she immediately dropped it but not before I realized that she was shaking. It dawned on me then that she'd forgotten her robe and sweater in the Library. "Are you cold?" I asked.

"Freezing" she said as she wrapped her arms around her.

"Well why didn't you say so?" I snapped as I took off my robe and wrapped it around her cold body. It was several sizes too large and it dragged on the ground and her arms nearly disappeared inside it.

She looked at me suspiciously. "Why are you being so nice?" she asked with chattering teeth.

"Listen if you die or something I'm going to have to carry you to the infirmary and then I'm going to have to be questioned and all that- that's just a lot of unnecessary hassle I don't want. It's not for you, it's for me."

She nodded like that explained it and was opening her mouth to say something when someone interrupted us.

"I hope Ms. Granger that for your sake, you aren't going to be screaming again"

Snape. Brilliant.

"I think you've already done enough of that thanks to Mr. Malfoys magical hands"

I nearly guffawed. He'd heard that? Granger turned as red as a beetroot.

"Precisely why are the two of you making a nuisance of yourself on the first day back here? And why exactly are you wet?'

"It's all his fault. Ask _him_" Snape raised his eyebrows. Did she have absolutely any idea about how suggestive she sounded? "Professor we-"

"Save it for detention Ms. Granger. Two weeks, every Monday, Friday and Saturday for three hours in my room. Don't be late"

"But-  
"Silence! Now off to bed both of you!"

"That's not-" I slapped my hand over her mouth.

"Shut up Granger" I hissed and then nodded at Snape. "We'll be there Sir"

He scowled at me. "Leave now before I decide to reconsider my generosity" and he left with another swish of his robes. Granger waited until he was out of sight before turning on me.

"You slimy little-"

I slapped my hand over her mouth again. "Do you want to be thrown out of school? You have to stop doing that!" I whispered. "Now I'm going to remove my hand and then we're both going to walk back to our respective dorms in silence"

She nodded and I did as promised. We looked at each other and then nodded again. We'd taken barely two steps when she stopped again.

I nearly groaned. "What?"

"My sweater and robe. I have to get them." she said turning around. She was shivering. I waved a hand at her. "I'll handle it"

"But-"

"Shut up and go! Don't irritate me more" I snapped and her eyes widened and then she turned on her heel and left.

I realized something when I got into bed that night; I hadn't called her mudblood once.

And I realized I hadn't wanted to.

When I'd woken up the next morning and Granger's sweater and robe had just been sitting there staring at me I realized that I would have to return it to her. The girl had trouble written all over her- I'd had to go back all the way just to get them. So I decided that I would at least return them to her in style. Hermione Granger would be getting a very interesting package the next day. I took a seat at the breakfast table that was more clustered than usual because of all those peasants from Durmstrang and Beaubaxtons. Some girls were pointing at me and giggling and I flashed them a charming smile.

"Look who decided to join us" Blaise drawled.

"I'm actually early, you moron"

"Boys" Adele said in a long suffering tone. "Let's not start please. It's too early for this"

"Hello, my pretty lady" I heard an accented voice drawl and Adele attempted to smile while I scowled as Sergei took a seat opposite her. Come to think of it, it wasn't only the number of girls sitting around us today was more than usual. I frowned at Adele. She was too pretty for her own good. Her red hair fell in perfect curls down her back, a rich deep red as a pose of those pathetic Weaselys bright and jarring heads, and her deep blue eyes were stunning with her fine features. She had a pale completion but no freckles and she was tall and slender. If she weren't my best friend she'd have been my girlfriend already.

I zoned out as some girls tried to speak to me and the irritating Russian made eyes at Adele- she wasn't interested anyway.

As I left for my first class I realized that all the Slytherins were acting rather shifty around me. They were hiding something and every time I approached they got weirdly quiet. I missed Lunch because I was in the Library so I'd just have to wait till Dinner to take them to task but take them to task I would.

Nobody hides things from a Malfoy.


	6. The Final Countdown

**A/N: Hey guys! So we'd both really appreciate it if you'd review and tell us how you like this story..  
We'd love to hear your inputs, Adele has been on our minds for a long while now and we're really excited for her future!**

CHAPTER SIX

ADELE'S POV

I had a terrible headache. The Beaubaxtons had not stopped shooting me vile looks all day, for no apparent reason. To top it off I hadn't seen Blaise the entire day because I'd missed Lunch studying with Draco in the Library. I'd had class after grueling class and with all these extra people in Hogwarts there was no privacy. If one more person asked me if I dyed my hair, I swear to Salazar I would incinerate them. And all this hype about the Goblet of Fire- for Merlin's sake, just put your name in if you can and stop whining if you can't. Ironic that I was going on about whining, I seemed to be doing my fair share of it. At least I had plausible reasons- my mother and her latest beau kept badgering Blaise and I, and to top it off Witch Weekly had done a cover on their wedding and so I'd been featured in it in all my wedding glory. Argh, I had to get out of my sludge phase- I needed to go back to being peppy, snarky Adele. This was it I decided, from now on no more self pity and-

My thoughts came to a sudden halt as I saw Draco storm into the great Hall. His hair was messed up as if he'd raked his hand through it multiple times, his robe was falling off one shoulder, his eyes were a furious pair of grey orbs and his face was flushed with fury. I'd never seen him so disheveled. Or so angry- discounting a handful of occasions. I sat up a little straighter. What's wrong? I started to ask but he turned immediately to Blaise.

"How could you not tell me?" he demanded fiercely.

"What? What didn't I tell you Drake?" Blaise asked blankly, concerned none the less.

Draco was on a track of his own. "I mean look at her-" a furious hand gestured my way. "-she looks traumatized!" Blaise turned to look at me and so did the myriad other people sitting on our table. I just looked at them in fascination.

_I looked traumatized?_

"I should have said something; I should have _shown_ him what happens when you- for Merlin's sake, he harassed her on the train Blaise! She's your _sister_. How could not tell me despite that?"

"Wait a minute" Blaise said. "What?" his eyes darkened. "Who harassed Adele on the train?"

I was dreading the words as they came out of his mouth. "Harry Potter. Who else would have the-"

"Harry!?" Blaise yelled, so loudly that people from the neighboring table turned to stare. He was on his feet in seconds. "I warned that son of a bitch to stay away from her- now he's making passes at her on the train? I clarified about what happened in the dorm room-"

"-and he stood there and actually tried to threaten me while." Draco stopped. "Wait. You didn't know about the train?"

"-she wasn't even in her senses! The little git decided that he could take advantage of her because she was half delirious? What kind of low life would do-"

"What dorm room incident?" Draco said in a dark tone, his eyes narrowing.

_Oh my God. Don't. Blaise, please don't. Please think before you act just this once. Please. Please. Please. _

Blaise made a sound of annoyance. "That time when Adele nearly died and landed up in his bed- you know the rest"

_Oh sweet Salazar. _

"She was with _him_ that night? _He_ was the one who drugged her? It was him all along, not Millic-_that little bastard._ That must've been when he, oh God…" he trailed off with a nauseated shudder. "I can't believe I was so blind." He looked at me with remorseful eyes full of so much pain. "I'm so sorry Adele." Those four words has so much feeling in them I wanted to reach across and pull him into my arms and keep him there until he stopped looking at me like that.

"What? What did he do?" Blaise demanded.

The look was quickly replaced when he spun his head towards Blaise his eyes dark with renewed anger. What he said next will be burnt into my memory forever. "Harry. Potter. Raped. Adele."

There was silence for a moment.

_Harry had done _what _now?_

"HE DID WHAT?" Blaise yelled in rage standing up.

I finally uncleaved my tongue from the roof of my mouth. "Nothing." I said quickly trying to diffuse the tension. "He did nothing"

Draco turned his head to look at me with his penetrating gaze. "Did you sleep with Harry Potter?" he asked slowly.

"Uhhhhhhhh…." I trailed off oh so eloquently, immediately losing all my bravado. I had completely forgotten the context, and my brain was slowly turning into mush.

"OH MY MERLIN YOU SLEPT WITH HIM!" Draco was hyperventilating, he looked like a chipmunk on steroids. I giggled at the immediate mental image of a furry Draco with an acorn between his teeth. I glanced up to see Blaise trying to claw his eyes out with his fists, and finally remembered.

"OH, No. I did not sleep with Harry Potter. But he didn't rape m-

"You see?" he said turning to Blaise who was talking to himself repeating again and again what Draco had told him. "I know what he did but I'm pretty sure I can come close to guessing. He-argh, I can't even. I'm going to kill him" he swore more to himself. "I'm going to rip him apart from limb to limb. I'm going to-" he turned around in a feverish haze and began striding towards the Gryffindor table. The thought that my best friend might soon commit a murder finally made me snap out of my haze.

"No!" I screamed throwing myself across the table and scrambling off it in pursuit of him while Blaise just stood there muttering to himself in shock. I was running behind him oblivious to the curious stares we were getting from all over the Great Hall. I had nearly caught up with him when I heard a sarcastic voice squeak.

"Mummy couldn't send you chocolates this week Malfoy?"

_Why are you such an idiot Ronald Weasely? _

If I had hesitated even a second before throwing myself at Draco, Fred would've been the youngest male Weasely.

"Hey!' I said throwing myself in front of him with my arms spread wide as his eyes glared murder at Ron who jumped a few steps back out of fear. "Look at me"

"Get out of the way Della," he hissed.

"No! If you want to get to him you're going to have to go through me"

"You've got a girl saving your arse now?"

_Did the ginger haired imbecile _want_ to die?_

"MOVE!" Draco snarled taking a step forward.

"Stop it!" I said through gritted teeth bracing my hands on his chest and pushing backwards. "You want to hit him? Punch him? Well tough. I'm not going to let you." I said. My tone became gentle. "Look at me." I cupped his cheek and turned his face and he finally looked at me. His eyes softened. I could make him listen. I could make him understand. "Listen to me Drake, he didn't-"

"YOU SON OF A BITCH" I looked around wildly to watch in horror as Blaise strode forward.

_Now? Just when I was about to make headway he decided he decided to snap out of his stupor? _

"_Confringo!_" Blaise yelled.

_What? Where had his wand come from?_

"_Finite Incantatem!_" I retaliated. "HELP!" I called out trying to attract the teacher's attention so they could give me some aid.

"_Diffindo!_" Draco snarled

_He was fighting too now?_

"_Expelliarmus!_" I said whirling around. I saw Ron just standing there frozen in fear while I was striving to save his hide. "SOMEONE HELP"

_Ronald Weasely was just standing there like a piece of fucking broccoli while I was spinning around like a dysfunctional yoyo spewing counter curses like an auror on excessive butterbeer?_

"What the bloody hell-"

"_Furnunculus!_"

-d'you think you're doing?"

_Holy Salazar. Harry._

"_Stupefy!_" I yelled spinning on my heel and aiming my wand at Ron. He immediately fell onto the ground, unconscious.

The moment I'd heard Harry's voice my mind had blanked out and yelled the first spell I'd thought of.

_I'd just rendered Ron Weasely unconscious to save his life and stop him from being disfigured for life by ugly boils. _

_That had been cast by my brother. _

_Salazar help us all. _

"You slimy little bastard" Draco hissed moving towards where Harry was standing up from the Gryffindor table and Hermione was grasping his hand and pulling him back. Her eyes met mine for a minute and I could see the desperation in her eyes mirrored mine. I searched the room frantically for Snape- for any teacher to help- but there was absolutely no one.

_The day my friends decided they wanted to murder the reason for Voldemort's absence was the day every single teacher in Hogwarts decided to mass bunk dinner?_

I looked wildly at the House Table I was standing next to and screamed over at someone "GO GET SNAPE" before sprinting after Draco who was being followed by Blaise. I threw myself in front of him again as he stopped in front of the Gryffindor table.

"Come duel me like a man Potter!" Draco hollered. "Let's settle this the old way"

"Are you stark raving mad?" Harry demanded angrily trying to throw off Granger's hand.  
"You're the one who's mad. Mad for thinking you could touch Adele" Blaise said coming up next to Draco his eyes pure black with anger.

"But he didn't-" I tried to protest

"I did what now?" he said confused.  
"I warned you Potter. I warned you before all this started that she didn't know it was you when she climbed into your bed. She was drugged. I told you not to get any funny ideas"

"But he didn't-" I tried to say.

"Alright what'you going on about now?" Harry asked bewildered

"You're going to act like you don't know?"

"I saw you with her you git. On the train. Don't act like you….."

"Like I what huh?" Harry demanded "Like I was saving her from breaking a bone or two? Because that's exactly what it was, you prick"

"Yeah and I suppose when you molested her when she showed up in your dorm you were making sure she was warm."

Hermione looked at me with wide eyes and so did Harry.

"_I molested you now?" _

Kill me now.

"Don't look at her" Draco said moving in front of me protectively.

"Yeah, you're talking to us now. You're not going to bully us."

Their voices became deceptively soft.

"So tell us Potter what did you do with her that night?"

"Did you spike her drink and then lure her into your bed?"

"You could've killed her you git" Blaise broke in losing control of his anger. "_What_ did you do with her that night?"

"I didn't _do_ anything"  
"I mean all this time I thought it was Millicent and I thought she was in love with Dean-"

"See? I told you she loved me!" The squeaky voice of Dean Thomas came from the other end of the table, and if I hadn't had my hands full already, I would have snapped his neck.

"-but you're the mastermind behind all that. You made it look like that because you knew we would kill you if we found you'd, you'd, you'd- WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER YOU BASTARD?"

"NOTHING. I DID NOTHING"

"Dudeeeee, she is hot. How did you manage that?" It was Seamus now. I swear, I was this close to ripping his face off with my teeth.

"DON'T LIE" Draco said taking out his wand and aiming it at Harry. "DON'T YOU STAND THERE AND LIE TO MY FACE"

"I AM NOT LYI-"

"That's it. Forget an honorable duel, this son of a bitch is going down!"

"_Locomotor Mortis_!" Draco yelled.

"NO!" I screamed throwing myself of Harry. Such a smart move on my part. If you throw yourself in front of someone to protect them you fail to realize that there is no one there to protect you.

_I went down. I went down like Ron Weasely had a few minutes ago. Except no one was kind enough to Stupefy _me_ (I would've been so much better at protecting my arse than they would) so I was still very much conscious. _

"Adele!" Hermione shrieked at the same time Blaise yelled "_Diffin-_"

"Oh no you don't!" I said throwing myself, as best as I could when my legs couldn't move, at him.

"_-do_! What the fuck?" Blaise gasped as he fell backwards because of the force with which I'd thrown myself at his calves.

"_Arresto Momentum_!" Draco yelled pointing his wand at Blaise.

_Sure, prevent _him_ from falling. Help the one whose legs still work. _

Granger had just enough time to spout a counter curse that made my legs unfreeze before Blaise was on his feet again and aiming his wand menacingly at Harry. I couldn't move for the life of me move. My palms and knees were bleeding and my ankle hurt like Pansy's existence. It's moment like these that you just want to sit down and give up no matter how much your Slytherin pride smarts because of it.

In the last twenty minutes I'd thrown myself across a table, been potentially drugged and molested by the chose one, saved a git's ass from my brother and lunatic friend only to end up stupefying him, then I tried to save my said molester from my murderous avengers only to get hit by a spell and then I'd gone and assaulted my brother.

There were limits.

"Here, I'll save you my beautiful red vixen!" _Did that lunatic just call me his vixen?_ "Don't cry Dean's here-"

I couldn't think as Dean barreled toward me like some sort of troll. All I knew was that I had had enough of him and his idiot Irish lackey. And with that, I _Stupefied_ Dean Thomas.

I decided I could be a damsel in distress no longer.

I pushed myself up on my feet and I was so angry I could literally see red.

"_-Confringo_!"

"ENOUGH IS ENOUGH" I screamed as I turned and slapped Draco. "LISTEN TO ME YOU MORONS" He blinked in shock clutching his cheek where my fingers had left a mark. Blaise looked stunned.

_The dam had burst._

"Before you point fingers at anybody at least make sure you know all the damn facts. I mean how could you just assume because of two separate events that happened in isolation, that Harry had been harassing me? Let me clear this up once and for all- HARRY POTTER HAS NEVER ONCE TRIED TO MAKE A MOVE ON ME ALRIGHT? When it comes to that night last term, I was the one who went to _his_ room and climbed into _his_ bed and then proceeded to throw myself at him because I was drugged, yes, and I was delirious, yes, and because I thought he was Dean, _yes_. But it wasn't him who drugged me- so as far as that is concerned, you have yourselves to blame. Sorry Draco, it it's still Millicent who nearly killed me last year. She was the one who made the wrong effing potion so I was hallucinating and the decided to get me drunk as well. I passed out in the Gryffindor dormitory in the middle of the night and coincidentally because I flew up to the dorm room via a broom and then broke in, I couldn't go back the way I came anyway. _Your stalker is such a terrible potion maker that I was delirious enough to break into the Gryiffindor Tower_. _From their window. On a broom._ Anyway, after I passed out Harry carried me down to Madame Pomphrey instead of just leaving me there and he stayed with me until the morning when he knew I was going to be alright. He didn't harm me at all_\- he saved my life_. I'm living right now because of him you gits. That's more than you did when you told me I was making up Millicent's level of hatred towards me. I mean would you have done the same thing in his position? If Granger had been drugged by Creepy Cormac and she'd landed up in your dormitory and fainted-"

"Hey!"

"Shut up Cormac- it's rude to interrupt" _I was on a roll now. _"Where was I? Right okay. I remember. Yeah, so if she fainted at your feet in the middle of the night or she was in a potentially life threatening situation-" Draco glanced at Hermione then, and he turned a beet red- I noticed that despite my fury. Huh. Blondie was hiding something. "-would you go back to save her? Would you think about it? Would you hesitate? Because I can assure you that I might have been unhinged at the time but I clearly remember that the moment I hit that ghastly carpet in their dorm room he picked me and got me help. He never once hesitated. Where do you even get off saying that he molested me let alone raped me? His actions were nothing but noble that night and he didn't even go around parading saying yeah 'I saved Adele Zabini. I'm such a hero now'. On the train I was the one who lost my balance running away from _Draco_ and I banged into him. He was the one who caught hold of me and maneuvered in such a way so that he was on top and the open door to his compartment hit him while my fall was being cushioned by the carpeted floor. Okay, so he decided to make conversation and it was bad timing because he was on top of me, and just maybe we shouldn't have had a little chat about goats, but in hindsight probably a better move- I would've fallen flat on my face if I'd gotten up again. But since when did making conversation translate into harassment? I looked traumatized afterwards because I rememebered what had happened and I was extremely embarrassed. _I hadn't even said thank you_. Why would you assume that _I_ of all people would shut up about being harassed? I mean me? Being bullied? Have you met me? I wouldn't let anyone if they tried. Yes, I'm a girl and yes, I'm nice and yes, I'm having my sludge phase but that does not mean that I cannot stand up for myself or that I'm soft. If you screw with me, I will screw with you and everyone knows it. So stop acting like my protectors. It's irritating. I turn around a lot of the time and fix your messes but don't mistake that for weakness and my niceness for tolerance. Raped, huh, sure. How could you not trust me enough to come to you with something like that? _You're my best friends._ Yes, you both didn't know about both the incidents but I would never keep something like that from you. And if I didn't tell you about my encounters with Harry that's something that should make _you_ feel ashamed, not me. Also one more thing," I said. "I'm going to make this very clear. Harry saved my life and I'm not a prissy pureblood. When someone helps me and stands by me that makes them my friend. _Harry Potter is a friend. Hermione Granger is a friend_. Ronald Weasely will have to be tolerated. I do not care if you have a problem with Gryffindors, I do not. You acted like gits and you owe some people apologies so I hope you can get off your pedestals and make those amends because the very same people you just tried to kill are the reason I'm still alive." I crossed my arms under my chest, taking a deep breathe before tensing up again when I realized something. I turned to the Gryffindors "Oh and I do not like Dean Thomas. I mean, no man. I was given a love potion and I was literally _forced_ to love him. You tell him when someone wakes him up that if he makes any sort of moves on me, I will stupefy him again. And anyone-" I said looking at Seamus who gulped. "-who insinuates that Dean and I have got it going will be personally hexed. Great. Glad we got settled." I turned around and looked at Harry and my eyes softened. "I am sorry. Truly."

"You're a terrifying individual," Hermione said a little awed

I gave her a rueful smile and shook my head "Only sometimes" and she grinned and I winked back before turning around to flounce out of the Great Hall. On my way out I pointed my wand at Blaise and said "_Aguamenti_" a jet of water flew out of my wand, soaking him, and he looked bewildered. I gave him a smug grin.

"What- why-" he spluttered, baffled.

"I felt like it" I said smiling sweetly "Maybe next time you'll think because before acting like a hot head," and then I carried on, on my way.

"Would someone care to explain to me Mr. Thomas and Mr. Weasely are currently stupefied?"

I froze on the way out.

_Oh bloody hell. SNAPE._

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to take in the Hall one last time. There was no way I wouldn't get expelled for this.


	7. Amortentia

CHAPTER SEVEN

ADELE P.O.V.

I woke up to the harsh sound of the dormitory door banging shut. I peeled my eyes open, and looked around blearily, shifting my weight and immediately regretting it. My body was sore, Snape had me scrub the entirety of the dungeon floor thrice over, after which he had a little surprise for me- Argus Filch!

The stupid caretaker made me rinse out pots that had previously been used for storing Salazar knows what in Herbology, and by the time I was finished it was already late, and I had had barely enough time to wash my pus-filled hands before crawling into bed and embracing the sweet oblivion of sleep.

I guess I couldn't complain, I had rendered two of my classmates unconscious.

There was nothing more I wanted than to turn over and go back to sleep, but there was a nagging feeling at the back of my mind that I just couldn't ignore. Cursing myself, I rolled over on my side and glanced at my alarm clock. If I had the energy to use my vocal chords, I would've screamed. Fortunately, my throat was sore, and all that came out of me was a pitiful croak- I was already five minutes late for Potions! My dear dorm mates had carefully left me here alone to rot, and I did not appreciate that. They would pay, sooner or later. But it was in my best interest to get out of bed first and not get killed by an angry Potions Master before I got the chance to torture Pansy Parkinson and her crew.

I leapt out of bed with the grace of a gazelle, to promptly trip over an opportune shoe and tumble to the ground. I picked myself of the wretched ground, and ran in and out of the bathroom in record time. I was never much of a hurried dresser, so I took a painfully long time in the bathroom, even then, with half my routine incomplete.

No doubt I looked a mess, but there was no time to ponder over such frivolities. I grabbed my satchel and ran out of the dorm, into the common room and up the stairs, out into the hallway. I ran like a madwoman, my cloak billowing behind me, and my hair tangled in the wind. I threw it into a messy braid as I tripped down the steps to the dungeon, throwing the doors open.

Everyone looked up from their cauldrons. Everyone, except Neville Longbottom.

He was peering into his cauldron, his brow furrowed, the smoke steaming out, an uncharacteristic baby pink. I gasped, identifying the steam and realised what it was.

"Everybody get down!" I yelled, scrambling to find shelter. Just as I predicted, the cauldron exploded, leaving globs of smelly magenta behind, and a significantly hairier Millicent Bullstrode, who hadn't the brain cells to comprehend the urgency in my voice.

As the class gazed at her, new tufts of coarse black hair, sprouted out of every visible patch of skin on her body.

Millicent's expression was a cross between horror and rage. I almost felt sorry for her, but she looked so comical I just couldn't help but start giggling.

Before anything rash could happen, Professor Severus Snape emerged from behind a suit of armour, his cape swishing magnificently behind him. Seamus was tasked with transferring Millicent and her rapidly lengthening tufts to the hospital wing. He looked quite disgruntled, but after a look from Snape, he shuffled off without so much as a word, escorting the hairy caterpillar out the door.

Snape turned his attention onto poor Neville, who was shivering behind his desk. Snape cuffed his ear. "Idiot boy! Never have I encountered in all my years of teaching a student whose mind works slower than a slug, incapable of even brewing herbal tea. Had it not been for Miss Zabini's timely interruption, your existence would be slime at the bottom of the desk you cower behind, that I would have had Filch dispose of. Fifty points from Gryffindor!"

He then turned his fury on me. I braced myself, waiting for the inevitable. "Fifty points to Slytherin for Miss Zabini's excellent deduction and prowess at identifying the dangers of the Fog of Ruin, and her opportune warning."

I gazed up, disbelieving. Had I just gotten out of this encounter completely unscathed?

The grumblings of the Gryffindors around me, I pulled myself up, hardly believing that I had gotten away with being late for Potions.

I made my way over to Draco and Blaise, the former looked up at me, the dark circles under his eyes accentuated by his pale skin. Snape had had an extra special punishment for the boys- scrubbing the Great Hall floors with their respective toothbrushes. He opened his mouth to say something, but Snape beat him to it.

"Today, we will not be working at our personal tables, but will be introduced to the concept of teamwork. Students will be divided into pairs...chosen by me. These pairs are to work together until I think it best not to continue with this method of instruction."

Here it was. My retribution.

"Ronald Weasley with Morag McDougall."

"Lavender Brown with Vincent Crabbe."

The names of my classmates soared over my head, and the only thought in my head was of Snape's punishment. He was sure to partner me with Harry.

"Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger." My head whipped around as I caught Draco's expression. As I had speculated, a slight tinge of pink touched his spectacularly high cheekbones, his grey eyes bright. A second later, his face metamorphosed to his regular expression of monotonous stone with a disdain for degenerates.

"Adele Zabini with.." I closed my eyes. I would just have to deal with the awkward tension between Harry and I.

"Dean Thomas."

_What?_

I looked up at Snape. His face looked like it had been carved out of marble, but I could make out the twitch of his thin lips and his coal black eyes glittering evilly.

"Harry Potter and Pansy Parkinson."

_Oh hell no. Over my dead body would that vile seductress be partnered with dear, innocent Harry._

"Places, now. Move."

Gritting my teeth, I made my way over to Dean, lowering myself gingerly onto the seat beside him.

"Hi, Adele," came Dean's simpering voice. I smiled hesitantly at him.

"Today we will be brewing one of the most potent potions ever known to wizardry. Today, your task is to bring to me one phial of perfected Amortentia."  
**(A/N: I know Amortentia is only introduced later in the story due to the complexity of its nature, but it fit in well with the story over here :D)**

I wanted to strangle a goose. Why was it always me?

"Ooh, the Love Potion babe. I think fate meant for us to brew it together, we're made for each other." I didn't even deign to reply.

"You have precisely one hour and forty five minutes. Begin."

I turned around to tell Dean to bring the ingredients, to see him staring at me. My expression must have been rather quizzical, because he felt it necessary to explain the reason for his open ogling. He smirked. "Babe, did you survive the _Adava Kedavra_ curse, because you're drop-dead gorgeous."

I almost gagged. Did _Dean Thomas _just try hitting on me?

I decided I wanted to be as far away from him as possible, and muttered something unintelligible as I made my way to Snape's stores. I was so intent on getting away from Dean, that I stumbled on a loose floorboard and would have fallen onto the ground _again _had it not been for the pair of strong hands that clasped me around my waist and saved me from inevitable humiliation. I turned around to thank my saviour, only to meet a pair of brilliant green eyes.

My face turned the colour of my hair. "I'm so sorry," I apologised.

Harry just smiled, and gestured toward the open door of the cupboard that stored the ingredients. Like the gentleman he was, he was letting me go first.

"Oh no, you were here before me. Go ahead," I insisted. He turned around to collect his ingredients and I cursed myself silently for being such a reckless baboon.

Harry paused, looked down at his collection, then back up again. I noticed he had one ingredient missing.

"You need Ashwinder eggs," I whispered. "Here, let me." I reached over his shoulder, grabbing the tiny eggs, and placing them in his arms. I glanced up, and my breath caught in my throat. We were only a few centimetres apart. He was drawing me in, like a moth to a flame, and I couldn't help but watch him, frozen.

"What's taking so long?" Meddling Gryffindor that Lavender was, she had barged her way into the storeroom, impatient for her turn.

Stabbing her in my mind, I painfully turned away from Harry to collect my ingredients.

I walked over to the desk, and set the ingredients down. I turned to look at my book, to discern the exact time the potion had to be boiled for, when Dean Thomas came up to me and whispered in my ear. "I've been whomping my willow thinking about you."

I shuddered and threw him off. "Powder the moonstones. Now."

Dean meekly obeyed, and I could start getting the preparation for the potion started, finally.

It had only been a matter of minutes before he opened his mouth again, no doubt to spew more rubbish.

"Are you using the _Confundus _charm, or are you just naturally mind-blowing?"

"DEAN!"

"Alright, alright, powdering the moonstone. But.."

"No more, or I will hex you."

Apparently the foolish cow had no regard for my previous threat, as he shuffled toward me, invading all personal boundaries, making to put his arm around me. But this time, I was prepared.

I stabbed him with a rose thorn.

Dean squealed like a rutted pig. Snape was upon me in seconds.

"Miss Zabini! What is it now?"

"I might have accidentally cut him with a thorn, Professor. But its okay sir, if he would like to switch partners with someone, I'd be totally fine with it."

"NO!" Dean screeched, his voice reaching decibels even the Fat Lady could not produce. "I will endure, for the love I bear for her."

I sighed, burrowing my head in my hands. I looked up beseechingly at Snape, begging him to rid me of this torture.

"Very well, Mr. Thomas. You may continue."

I wanted to scream.

I gave a long-suffering moan. Nothing could be done now, we needed to finish the potion. I would not let my Potions grades drop for some maggot.

"Give me your wand, Dean. I'll need to stir the potion with it while reciting the spell."

"Of course my love, I'd let you handle my wand any time," he said, waggling his eyebrows at me.

I grabbed his wand, _NOT THAT WAND,_ rather the nine-inch long wooden instrument he played with. _ARGH, NO. _I must stop digging myself into this deep, dark hole. I took his magical staff and started twirling it around the potion, intricately twining it within the potion's depths.

A smile wove its way into my face, Potions always managed to cheer me up. The almost-finished Amortentia started bubbling, there were hues of blue and green dancing in the calm red. There were a few more minutes until it gained its soft, mother-of-pearl sheen, and I still had to add the split rose thorns to it. Taking the thorns, I dropped them one by one into my cauldron, watching them fizzle away into the potion's deep mauve.

Finally, my efforts were rewarded, when the potion gave a last bubble, and turned to its characteristic sheen. Almost immediately Snape was next to me, patting me on the back, and praising me for my perfected Amortentia. The steam started rising in spirals from it, as I smiled and took a bow.

My good mood did not last for long, however, as Dean took the Amortentia in a vial, made to take it to Snape's desk, and instead manoeuvred to grab my chin and try to feed me the blasted thing.

Something snapped inside me, I had had enough of Dean Thomas. I was livid now, and nothing anybody said or did could turn me around. I kicked him in the groin, the vial dropping to the ground and shattering into a million crystals. My eyes must have been blazing, for Dean looked terrified, and tried to take a step back.

"You want to feed me love potion?" I growled. Dean shook his head pathetically.

"I'll teach you to want to feed me love potion!" I grabbed a mug lying unused on the cluttered desk, half-filled it with my Amortentia, and splashed the scalding hot liquid onto him.

Dean gasped and spluttered. Unfortunately, he swallowed some Amortentia before falling to the ground in pain. The last creature he viewed before collapsing was an unconcerned slug, nestled at the side of one of the legs of the table.

Immediately, I felt like a good-for-nothing scoundrel. The whole class was cheering, Snape had disappeared. I slowly walked up to the huddled mass of Dean on the floor, terrified of what I might find. "Uhh, Dean?" I poked him. This was apparently the wrong thing to do.

Dean leapt up with a yell, half his face burnt. He clutched his eye with one hand, and with the other he was gesticulating wildly.

"Oh my Salazar, Dean, I'm so so sorry!" I started saying, but he held no regard for me as he fell to the ground again, scrambling around, looking for something. I looked up with a puzzled expression at the whole class rolling around in laughter. Blaise was chortling, Draco was smirking, Hermione had shut her eyes in exasperation and Harry and Ron had fallen on top of each other in an undignified heap, laughing.

Dean had jumped up again, but now he was cradling something in his hand. Something that looked suspiciously like a slug.

"Hi there, my little flower. Henceforth I shall name you Belladonna, Belladonna the Radiant. For nothing can compare to your fair beauty. I must confess, my heart had beat for another, but now, looking upon your magnificence, I cannot help but fall prey to your beauty. Take me, Belladonna, for I am yours forever," he crooned to the slug.

The class roared. I approached him cautiously. "Dean, are you okay?"

He shoved me back. "Hands off! She's mine! I am going to announce it to the world and then no one can ever steal her from me again! I LOVE BELLADONNA.."

He was interrupted by the entrance of a very displeased Professor Snape.

Dean Thomas was carried to the hospital wing by four Hogwarts students, rid of the slug, crying over his broken heart all the way.

**REVIEW!**


	8. Defence Against the Dark Arts

CHAPTER EIGHT

ADELE P.O.V.

Lunch was a solemn affair.

Not for my friends, of course, they were giggling away like a bunch of pansies at the free entertainment they got to witness at the cost of my humiliation. I, on the other hand, had an extra two days of detention with Snape, and was not in the mood for jokes.

"Look who it is, our favourite little Slytherin!" Fred and George Weasley plonked themselves on either side of me and grabbed at my chicken. "We heard about your little escapade with a certain Thomas. Very proud of you." I huffed, and waved their hands away. "Hands off my chicken."

Geogre lunged for my timetable. "Cheer up Zabini child! You have Defence Against the Dark Arts next. Alastor Moody is a God."

"Really?" I asked curiously, my interest piqued. Defence had always intrigued me, as had "Med-Eye" Moody, of whom tall tales had reached my ears through my mother. He was supposedly an Auror of repute, and detested by my mother and others in a few circles.

Nevertheless, I couldn't wait to get to class, it was one of the few I actually enjoyed. I scarfed down my potatoes, my mouth full, I gestured hurriedly toward Draco and Blaise. I waved to the Weasley twins, swung my leg around the long table and hopped to the other side.

"Move it, you idiots. I want no reason for any other Professor to give me detention." Blaise gulped down his pumpkin juice, and wrenched Draco up. "Let's go."

We walked down through the hallways, all eyes on us. Knowing it was mainly due to the Potions incident, I kept my head down. We reached the Defence classroom quite early, so we got quite a good choice of seats. I ran to one of the desks in front."Yay! This is mine!"

Draco rolled his eyes at my childishness and Blaise muttered something quite similar to 'nerd.' I pulled Draco and Blaise by the hand to the seats behind mine.  
"Sit," I ordered. They complied. I sat down too, quite happy with myself.

The rest of the class started streaming in, Hermione at the forefront. "Hermione!" I squealed, patting the seat beside me. She gave me a queer look and sat down. Blaise took the liberty of explaining. "She's not at her best."

Before I could make a very indignant remark, Alastor Moody swept by my desk. He waved his wand, and a piece of chalk magically started scrawling his name on the blackboard.

"Alastor Moody," he announced. "Ex-Auror, Ministry malcontent, and your new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."

"Joy," grumbled Blaise from behind. Poor boy didn't really have an affinity for the whole 'defence' part.

"I am here because Dumbledore asked me- end of story, goodbye, the end. Any questions?"

"He practices sarcasm. I can tell," I exclaimed in awe. "Teach me, Master." Hermione shushed me.

"When it comes to the Dark Arts, I believe in a practical approach. I believe in CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" The class reared back at his ferocity. "Now, can anybody here tell me how many Unforgivable Curses there are?"

"Three, sir," replied Hermione.

"And they are so named?"

"Because they're unforgivable," I answered, determined Hermione would not get all the glory. Moody's fake eyeball spun around to focus on me. "The use of any one of them-"

"Would earn you a one-way ticket to Azkaban, that is correct. Now the Ministry says that you are too young to see what these curses can do. I say different!"

Hermione and I immediately turned our heads to look at each other in apprehension. "Is he for real?" I whispered. She just shook her head in disbelief.

"You need to know what you're up against. You need to be prepared. You need to find another place to stick your chewing gum than the underside of your desk, Mr. Finnagan!"

The whole class swivelled around to see Seamus in shock, his hand under his table, making to stick his gum there. I turned back around, satisfied. "I forgive him, he's fabulous," I declared.

"So which curse shall we see first?" questioned Moody. "Weasley!" he barked. Hermione tensed beside me.

"Yessir!" came Ron's dulcet tone. "Give us a curse."

"Well..." Ron took his time, gazing over at Hermione for support. Hermione looked as if she wanted to reach out and cuddle him like some sort of teddy bear. I gagged, and I didn't even have to turn to see Draco's murderous expression, his eyes burning holes through the back of my head.

"My Dad did tell me about one, the _Imperius _curse?"

"Ah, yes, your father would know all about that one- gave the Ministry quite a bit of grief a few years ago. Perhaps_ this _will show you why."

Hermione tensed. I was going to ask her what had gotten her so flustered, when I saw the reason for her anxiety. Moody was luring a creature out of one of his boxes, a hairy, eight-legged menace with two bright black eyes- I could have screamed. I really _hated _spiders.

"_Impedimenta." _The spider suddenly became docile, it followed Moody's every command and wand movement- over the desks, on Neville's head, on Draco's face, and right in front of my eyes...I screamed, shutting my eyes tight.

"What should I have her do next?" he enquired. "Make her jump out the window?" I opened an eye to see the spider hurtling over to the window. "Drown herself?" I saw it balanced precariously on the eye of a glass of water.

The spider was brought back to his hand. "Scores of witches and wizards have claimed that they only did You-Know-Who's bidding under the influence of the _Imperius _curse. But the question remains- how do we sort out the _liars?_"

His glass eyeball whizzed around till it came to a rest. Looking at me. "Longbottom, isn't it?" He asked, still glaring at me.

From across the room, Neville stood up. "Professor Sprout tells me you have an aptitude for Herbology."

"Thank you, sir."

"Give me another curse, Longbottom."

Neville gulped. "There's the..the-uh, the _Cruciatus _curse."

"Correct, correct! Particularly nasty one- the torture curse." Moody walked up to my desk and placed the now immobile spider in front of me. I leaned back instinctively.

_"Crucio!"_ The spider writhed in pain, bending back in unnatural ways to escape the pain being inflicted upon it. I writhed as well, as if it was I the curse had been directed toward. I could almost feel the pain and an abnormal urge came upon me to touch it...to heal it in some way. I heard soft voices in my head, whispers of unimaginable things, promises of glories, urging me to touch the spider, to use my power to heal. In a daze, my hand lifted toward the spider...

"Stop it!_ Stop it! _Can't you see it's hurting him?" I snapped out of it, glancing toward Neville, whom Hermione had been trying to save. His face was contorted, and he was breathing loudly.

I looked back up at Moody, only to find that he had not shifted his eyes from my face. I didn't move, and a cold breeze swept over me, the hairs at the back of my neck standing up. I knew something terrible was going to happen. The spider still on my desk was whimpering.

Not moving his gaze, he asked me, "Would you like to give us the last curse, Miss Zabini?"

I shook my head, mutely.

"Very well..._Adava Kedavra!_" A jet of cold green light shot out of his wand, and the spider gave one last twitch.

The spider lay dead in front of me.

"The killing curse," Moody whispered.

He raised his voice and his eyes finally from me, to find Harry. "Only one person is known to have survived it...and he's sitting in this very room."

All eyes turned to Harry, except mine. My gaze was glued to the dead arachnid, and I couldn't move. I barely heard Moody's instructions for the homework due next week, and as the class shuffled out, I was the last one remaining at my desk.

"Adele?" came Draco's voice, which broke me out of my stupor. I turned around to see Blaise, Draco, Harry and Hermione at the door, concerned.

I forced a smile onto my face. "Coming."

I snatched my bag up and stood up, glancing at Alastor Moody. He was still staring at me, a morbid look in his eyes, and I turned away, suddenly terrified. I walked toward my friends, shook off their worries and made my day out to Herbology, not glancing back even once.

Walking down the sunny grounds, I could still feel the scars of the ghostly _Cruciatus _curse on my body, and the silent voices in my head.


End file.
